Jack Henson II, 46, of North Carolina, Identified After Fatal Shooting at Nashville Courthouse

 The fatal shooting at the Fred D. Thompson Federal Building and Courthouse in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday, October 8, 2026, left Jack Henson II dead and placed a serious incident at a busy public building under investigation. Authorities said a federal security officer fired during an encounter near the courthouse entrance shortly before 9:30 a.m. Henson was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified Henson as Jack Henson II and said he was born on September 23, 1984, making him 42, rather than the age of 46 stated in some accounts. Reports described him as a man from outside Tennessee, and a vehicle connected to the incident had North Carolina license plates. The TBI’s public statement did not confirm the Bear Creek hometown included in the source account.

Preliminary information released by the TBI said Henson entered the federal courthouse in the 700 block of Church Street carrying a firearm and a knife. Police accounts reported that he attempted to fire a pistol at the security checkpoint, but it did not discharge. He then pulled out a knife, and a security officer fired, striking him. Investigators have not publicly established why the encounter unfolded as it did.

Henson was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and later pronounced dead, according to authorities. Officials said no officers were injured. Police also reported that investigators searched a vehicle parked near the courthouse and found nothing threatening inside. The search and the response at the building formed part of the early fact-gathering after the shooting, but they have not answered the central question of what led Henson to the checkpoint.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is leading the inquiry at the request of the district attorney general and the U.S. Marshals Service. Agents are collecting evidence and conducting interviews to reconstruct the sequence of events. The agency has emphasized that its role is to establish the facts; it does not decide whether an officer’s actions were legally justified. That determination rests with the district attorney general reviewing the findings.

The incident also disrupted activity around the downtown courthouse. The nearby Nashville Public Library was evacuated as law enforcement secured the area and checked the vehicle. Officials described the event as unusual for the courthouse, where security screening is intended to protect staff, visitors and people conducting business in the building. The shooting prompted concern among workers and others nearby, while investigators continued to assess whether any wider threat existed. The building is also used by federal prosecutors and serves members of the public who come for court proceedings and other official business. Because the checkpoint is a primary entrance, the shooting led authorities to secure nearby streets while they assessed the scene and worked to determine whether anyone else faced a danger that morning.

For now, many details about Jack Henson II’s life and the circumstances that brought him to the courthouse remain unavailable in public statements. Authorities have not announced a motive, and the investigation is ongoing. The confirmed facts offer a limited account of a sudden and fatal encounter, not a complete explanation. As investigators review evidence and share findings with prosecutors, Henson’s death remains the central outcome of an incident whose full circumstances have yet to be established.